The ravages of coastal erosion are wide spread throughout the world. Beaches are destroyed or seriously damaged by continued erosion. In some areas the coastline recedes so that valuable land is lost and buildings fall into the sea.
Many attempts have been made to prevent or at least reduce coastal erosion. These have included the erection of stone jettees, break-waters and sea walls and planting variously shaped barriers along a beach. Further it has been proposed to anchor floating wave barriers in the water near the shoreline. However, these devices have not come into wide spread use, apparently because of high cost and ineffectiveness.